'Vijay Sethupathi was adamant...': Muttiah Muralitharan opens up about biopic controversy

Muttiah Muralitharan's biopic titled 800 is all set to release on October 6. Slumdog Millionaire fame Madhurr Mittal essays the legendary Sri Lankan spinner in the film which will trace his journey from being a cricket prodigy to scoring accolades for his country. Before Madhurr, 800 was supposed to feature Vijay Sethupathi, who backed out of the film after political backlash.

3 things you need to know

• In October 2020, Muttiah Muralitharan requested Vijay Sethupathi to back down from doing his biopic.
• Muralitharan had stated that Sethupathi was under tremendous pressure from some quarters to not do 800. 
• Makers have clarified that 800 is a sports biography and does not make any political statement.

Muttiah Muralitharan on Vijay Sethupathi doing his biopic 

Speaking about what he asked Vijay Sethupathi to opt out of his biopic, Muralitharan told ANI, "I am a minority citizen of Sri Lanka. I am Tamil and a popular personality. The jealousy factor also comes in sometimes. After the war, they asked what do I think of it. I said I am very happy about it."

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Madhurr Mittal (@mad.mittal)

He continued, "Whatever happened in the civil war, I'm not responsible for it. Few politicians on social media made it a big deal. Vijay Sethupathi was a big actor. He was adamant about doing this movie but in the end, I told him because you are a star and you need to work, they will come and disturb you. I don't want to be the person you are involved with and lost your career."

What was the controversy over 800?

Political Parties, including the AIADMK, MDMK, PMK and veteran Tamil filmmaker Bharathirajaa were among those who had urged Vijay Sethupathi to disassociate from 800 back in 2020. They alleged that Muralitharan was a betrayer of the Tamil people and supported the then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the 2009 civil war.

The cricketer responded saying he never supported the killings of innocent people and would never do that. He expressed anguish over him being accused as against the Tamils and asserted that it was for political reasons and out of ignorance.

(With PTI inputs)